Rotary engine



Sheets- Sheet 1 G. BRAMBBL.

ROTARY ENGINE.

No. 550,582. Patented Dec?l 3, 1895.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. BRAMBEL.

' ROTARY ENGINE. No. 550,582. Patented Dec. 8, 1895.

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GRANT BRAMBEL, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

ROTARYEVNGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,582, dated December 3, 1895- Application filed September 10, 1894. Serial No. 522,632. (No model.)

To of/ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, GRANT BRAMBEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Rotary Engine, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to motors, and particularly to rotary engines having reversible concentric pistons; and the objects in view are to provide a machine of simple construction with means for causing the maximum expansion of steam, to provide an improved construction of piston whereby the force of expansion is economized, and, furthermore, to provide simple and efficient means for lubrieating and packing the piston.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a motor embodying` my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same, perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the piston. Fig. 3 is a vertical section parallel with and through the axis of rotation of the piston. Fig. 4L is a face view of the piston to show the lubricating and packing ducts or grooves.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures of the drawings.

1 designates the casing of cylindrical construction and provided with a base 2, having means for attachment to a iixed object, such means consisting in vertical bolt holes 3, adapted for the reception of fastening-bolts. Fixed to or integral with the casing, preferably at its upper side, is a valve-casing fi, having a tapered transverse bore 5, in which is revolubly mounted the tapering plug 6. This plug is held in steam-tight contact with the walls of the casing 4 by means of a tension-spring 7, which is held in place by the nut 8, which is threaded upon a reduced extension of the plug. The cylinder 1 is provided with twin inlet-ports 9, which communicate with the bore of the val ve-casing and diverge toward their lower ends to communicate with the interior of the cylinder, and the plug of the throttle-valve above described is Vprovided with a passage 10, which may be arranged to communicate with veither of said 4inlet-ports and convey steam or other motive agent from the inlet-opening 11 of the valvecasing to the said steam-port. The exhaustport 12 is located diametrically opposite the inlet-ports, and in the construction illustrated in the drawings is formed in the base of the cylinder.

VFixed to the projecting portion of the plug of the throttle-valve is a reversing-lever 13, which operates adjacent to a segmental rack 14- and is provided with a locking-pawl l5 to engage the notches of said rack, said pawl being held in operative relation with the rack by means of a spring 16.

y The heads of the cylinder, which are shown at 17, are duplicates of each other in construction and are secured to the cylinder by means of bolts 18,which extend through transverse perforations in the walls of the cylinder. These heads are provided with extended bearings 19, in which is mounted the pistonshaft `20, which may be provided adjacent to each head with a pulley or driven wheel 21, as shown in Fig. 3. Vithin the cylinder the piston 22 is fixed to the said shaft with its periphery contiguous to the inner surface of the cylinder. The piston is cored or recessed to form pockets 23, terminating at both ends in abrupt concaved abut-ments 24 to provide for the reversal of the motion of the piston, and in the walls of the cylinder, respectively adjacent to the inner ends of the inlet-ports, are the expansion-chambers 25,which are angular in shape and have abrupt abutments 26 to form the fixed abutments for the expanding steam. The opposite or lower sides of these expansion-chambers are merged into the surface of the cylinder in order to avoid an obstructing shoulder.

. The bearing-boxes 19 are provided with the oil-cups 27 and the subjacent waste-cups 28, supported by the pendent stems 29, which are connected to downwardly bulged or enlarged portions 30 of the bearings to insure the collection of the waste lubricant in position to fall into the waste-cup.

The inner surfaces of theheads `of the cylinder are grooved to form lubricating and packing ducts 31, and the ends of the piston are provided with corresponding ducts 32,

IOO

which register with the ducts 3l, each duct being semicircular in cross-section, whereby when combined the resulting ducts are circular in cross-section. The function of these ducts is to contain oil, water, or other Huid to lubricate the contacting surfaces of the pistou and cylinder-heads and prevent the passage of steam or other motive agent around the ends of the piston, such lubricant Working thereinto from the bearings of the shaft 20.

It is obvious that oil or other lubricating material which is applied to the bearings of the shaft 2O will work inwardly to the faces of the piston and thence outwardly toward the periphery thereof, and at the same time any steam or moisture which may enter between the ends of the piston and the contiguous heads of the cylinder will be condensed and accumulate in the form of moisture in the ducts 3l and 32.

Having described the construction of the improved motor, the operation thereof, briefly stated, is as follows: Vhen the throttle-valve is turned to admit steam or other motive agent to one of the inletports, said agent enters the cylinder adjacent to one of the expansionchambers 25, and is thus admitted to one of the chambers or recesses in the piston. The expansion of the steam gives the impulse necessary to carry the piston in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 a sufficient distance to bring the succeeding recess or chamber into the iield of the incoming steam, the first-named chamber being meanwhile exhausted at 12. The reversal of the motor is accomplished by moving the lever 13 to cause the admission of steam through the other inlet-port.

It will be understood that in practice various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder having opposite heads provided with registering extended bearing boxes, inwardly divergent steam inlet ports communicating with the interior cylinder at their inner ends and a common valve casing at their outer ends, a cut-off and reversing valve arranged in said casing, a rotary piston arranged in the cylinder and provided with peripheral pockets adapted to communicate with steam chambers at the inner ends of said ports, registering cross-sectionally semi-circular grooves formed in the contiguous faces of the piston and cylinder heads concentric with said bearing boxes, said grooves combining to form cross-sectionally circular lubricating ducts, a shaft mounted in said bearings and fixed to the piston, and lubricating devices in communication with the bores of said bearings, whereby lubricating material is adapted to pass between the ends of the piston and the cylinder heads and accumulate in said lubricating ducts to form packing to prevent the exhaust of steam or the passage thereof from one pocket to another of the piston, substantially as specified.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own l have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GRANT BRAMBEL.

Vitnesses:

JAMES BURKE, .Toi-IN DEGNAN, 

